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Zimbabwe: Off the radar

Whilst the world is preoccupied with the Middle East other conflicts and issues around the globe disappear off the radar. Take Zimbabwe for example.

The LA Times reports:

"Highways are clogged by roadblocks as police conduct lengthy searches for currency before a revaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar aimed at reining in the country's hyperinflation.

Mourners say they have been forced to open coffins, and some women say they have had to submit to body cavity searches.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe lopped three zeroes off the currency more than two weeks ago and gave people until Monday to exchange their old notes. It also put a strict limit on how many notes can be exchanged each day.

The government of President Robert Mugabe blames currency hoarding for the country's economic problems. Mugabe warned Tuesday that the government would crack down on any violent protests when the old currency expired, state radio said."

Read, here, how the once strongest economy in Africa is facing rack and ruin, and ongoing violence, on many levels.

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